want to see everything, it’d be advisable to consider staying overnight. The park pro- vides several options, including hotels and bungalows. Accommodation is, of course, themed in the style of Puy du Fou, express- ing the history of the region. All the shows are in French. Everything
is pre-recorded, so the actors mime to playback. International visitors can buy a device that allows them to choose between six different languages. My unit worked well. My only quibble was that the Dutch translator had no emotion in his voice. The park has several F&B outlets, from small venues with sandwiches, to themed restaurants where guests can dine as they might have hundreds of years ago, served by the actors, which adds to the fun. We
AM 1 2012 ©cybertrek 2012
tried the a la carte restaurant with authen- tic local meals. It was a good experience – good food, served by friendly staff. It’s hard to criticise the park, but one comment is that it’s a bit difficult to navigate. We sometimes had a hard time finding the next show. Also, there may not be enough for small children to do. I didn’t see any play areas for children to let off steam in between shows. Also, you need to be lucky with the weather (we were). It wouldn’t be fun watching these shows in the rain. Only one show is indoors, and the seating areas aren’t covered. The Themed Entertainment Association is honouring Puy du Fou this year with a Thea classic award (see p54), which the park will receive in March. It certainly
(Top) Puy du Fou’s shows involve 160 horses, all of which have been trained by staff; (bottom) the attrac- tion began in 1978 as a nightly evening show, now called Cinéscénie
deserves this recognition. There’s nothing like it in the world. No one stages so many magnificent shows with so many people, such spectacle and such a commitment to bringing real history to life. They have liter- ally invented their own formula, and have worked this formula to attract one and a half million visitors a year. l
Bart Dohmen, managing director, BRC Imagination Arts BV, The Netherlands
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